The Witch Hazel

What is that plant shimmering with color in a winter garden?

That brilliant yellow is the remarkable witch hazel shrub
(Hamamelis virginiana), a fall and winter bloomer as welcome
to the senses as spring itself. This deciduous shrub puts on a show of
spider-shaped flowers that bloom before the leaves come out, often with
a pleasing, spicy scent of allspice and honey.

It’s a wonderful addition to a naturalized garden. Witch hazels as a
whole are easy to grow and are suitable for varying soil and light
conditions. The hardiest is the common witch hazel, Hamamelis
virginiana, but all the species will grow in our area in full sun
or partial shade in moist, well-drained soil. The shrubs have no
serious disease or insect problems, although the native species are
prone to leaf gall development.

Green Spring’s National Collection

The Hamamelis, or Witch Hazels, of Green Spring Gardens
became an official Plant Collections Network (PCN)
collection in 2006. PCN, a part of the American Public
Gardens Association, is a network of botanical gardens and
arboreta that coordinate preservation of germplasm, the living tissue
from which a plant can grow, i.e. seed or a plant part. Member gardens
make germplasm available for studies, evaluation, breeding and
research.

Green Spring Gardens has more than 215 Hamamelis plants and
110 different types or unique taxa. Nearly 150 of those plants are
found in the Entrance Garden and the Overflow Parking Lot Garden. The
second largest collection is in the Spring House Overlook, with more
than two dozen plants. Another four dozen plants are scattered
throughout other gardens at Green Spring, including the Virginia Native
Plant Garden. Green Spring Gardens' Witch Hazel Collection is one of
three PCN collections focused on Hamamelis. The Dawes
Arboretum and the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories and Arboretum
also have collections.

Green Spring’s collection started with a gift of six witch hazels from
the Chapel Square Garden Club in Annandale. There are now selections
from all the Hamamelis species, including the native eastern
witch hazel, H. virginiana, the Ozark witch hazel, H.
vernalis, and hybrids. About 100 of the specimens are cultivars of
the well-known Asian hybrid, H. intermedia.

Virginia and the Witch Hazel

The state of Virginia has a special connection to the witch hazel. An
unsung hero of early American botany, the Reverend John Banister,
discovered the common witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana.

Banister was sent to the British colony of Virginia by Reverend Bishop
Henry Compton in 1678. In dispatching Banister to Virginia, Compton,
who was a keen plantsman himself, ensured that he would have a steady
supply of American plants and seeds for his large, 14.5-hectare garden
while also meeting his responsibility to provide the colonists with a
minister. Banister was an enthusiastic student of nature and sent to
England hundreds of drawings and descriptions as well as seeds. He soon
proposed a natural history of Virginia that would catalog the region’s
flora and fauna. Banister also corresponded with, and sent drawings to,
the famous British naturalists Leonard Plukenet and John Ray, giving
them valuable insight into the region’s flora.

Unfortunately, before he could begin his natural history of Virginia,
Banister’s career was cut short when he was accidentally shot and
fatally wounded while exploring along the Roanoke River in 1692. But
this promising young naturalist left his mark through his descriptions
and drawings that live on in the botanical works of Ray, Plukenet and
Gronovius.

Next time you are scanning catalogs and looking for the perfect plant
to add to the garden, think of witch hazels. The open, statuesque
shrubs perform beautifully in Northern Virginia.

And well they should. After all, they have their roots here.

The Witch Hazel as Medicine

The witch hazel has long been used for medicinal purposes. American
Indians made leaf tea for colds and sore throats. Twig tea was rubbed
on athletes’ legs to keep muscles limber. Astringent bark tea was taken
internally for lung ailments and used externally for bruises and sore
muscles. Today it is widely used in distilled extracts, washes for eye
ailments, and ointments for irritations and toning skin.
Here are two recipes that show how trees can be both beautiful and
beneficial.

Bring water to a boil in a porcelain or enameled saucepan and add
leaves. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Let it steep until cool;
then strain. Add alcohol. Apply with cotton ball. Keep refrigerated.
Discard unused portion after three days.

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan and added dried elder flowers,
lavender, chamomile and rosemary. Remove pan from heat and let herbs
steep for one hour. Strain herbs from water and return to a gentle
boil. Add glycerin soap, and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat,
and stir in jojoba oil and witch hazel. Let cool to room temperature
and bottle. Makes nine ounces.